Today I went to substitute teacher orientation so I can start subbing again. I let my license expire and have been waiting for a few months to get a spot in the orientation. I loved subbing! High school was my favorite, but I will probably focus on middle school since it's just a couple of miles away. Now I can supplement my income from my part-time retail work, and I am really excited about it. I wanted to be a teacher but for some reason (honestly, I don't know the reason) never pursued it. Going back to school is not an option now, so working as a sub is the closest I can get to working in the classroom. I enjoy working with kids, and I feel like it's a good way to connect with the teachers and students my kids talk about at home.
Did you know that substitute teachers in Alabama have to show 48 hours of coursework in college, junior college, vocational school, or trade school? This is because of Title I, a program dating back to 1965. It doesn't guarantee your kids will have a sub who knows the coursework for that particular class (trust me, I've subbed in chemistry and trigonometry classes), but it does guarantee a certain level of post-high school education and a chance to have a well-rounded sub. Also, my system has a vocational high school and they are often in need of subs for not just general coursework, but for their programs as well (like cosmetology, horticulture, welding).
The county I work in pays $66 daily for a classroom teacher sub, $7.25 per hour for classroom aides, and $9.50 per hour for a CNP (child nutrition program) sub. It's not a high paying gig by any means, but it doesn't involve weekends and keeps me in the loop in my community. Those are perks a lot of other jobs can't offer.
Now for something NOT work related. We've had a bit of a rough time here, with the unexpected death of my dad in August, and the less surprising death of my last grandparent Tuesday, plus my spouse and I have been fighting illness that's set us back a bit in the work department (also laundry and a still-broken dryer, and a litter box that won't clean itself even when we have fevers). I returned to work Tuesday night but left toward the end of my scheduled shift when my ex-husband called to tell me my mom's mother had died. She'd been in hospice care for a while, and we knew her time was short, but her death came fewer than two months after my father's death. This is my kids' week with their dad, and we decided to let our twelve year old son travel by plane to my grandmother's funeral with my mom this weekend.
With so many decisions to be made, and changing family dynamics to deal with, and still being foggy from being so ill over the last few days, we really didn't think we'd be able to have a "date night" this week. (We like to do something on the 8th of every month since we were married on the 8th, but it doesn't always work out perfectly.)
We found out that Wednesday night's Sleigh Bells show at WorkPlay was going to be a buy-one-get-one deal for $25. When the tickets were $22 each, there was no way we could have gone. So despite not feeling all the way well, we decided at the last minute (during church, actually) to go to the Sleigh Bells show for our date night! I totally feel like a woman my age should after a very loud rock show, but it was great, and the singer was so sweet, patiently taking photos and signing autographs for her fans. We got to see friends we hadn't see in ages, and part of the fun was the spontaneity of it all.
Here's a picture of my love and I with Alexis, the singer for Sleigh Bells. WorkPlay is still a great play to see a show!
I'm so glad you got a bit of happy in the middle of all that.
ReplyDeleteHubby has a teaching certificate, and we're trying to decide if its worth it for him to lose his unemployment by subbing. It really sucks that subs make so little.
Certified teachers get paid $75 per full day in Shelby county. I know that isn't where you live, and it's not really worth driving far for so little money (and we get paid a month in arrears, too, which makes it harder to get started). Since my retail job only scheduled me for ELEVEN hours next week, I will be free most days to sub, and that will at least mean money at the end of November.
ReplyDeleteAnother drawback to subbing is that it isn't always consistent. Once you get in with a school and they like you, you can become one of those people they call every day before jobs even get posted. But sometimes it takes a while to get to that point.
Thanks for commenting!